Pink & Orange
by ShadowWolf272
Summary: What happens when one scathing remark too many sends our favourite pink-haired kunoichi off the path of 'weak' and onto the path of 'badass? Perhaps it's time someone showed the world who's boss and dragged her two teammates with her.


"I'm sick of this" Sakura shouted, throwing her kunai pouch onto the bed in front of her, "I thought that by doing these D-ranks to the best of my ability Sasuke-kun would at least acknowledge my potential as a ninja. But instead, he calls me the same names, over and over again. How do I get him to stop?"

Tears spilling down her cheeks Sakura flopped on her bed burying her head in one of her forest green pillows and screamed out her frustration.

 **'Kura! Lounging around doing nothing won't help you'** Inner said

"I know that," Sakura said out loud "But what do I do? Increasing my knowledge has only helped so much, and even then it's not been enough to get his attention. I mean, Sasuke-kun doesn't seem to care about anything but jutsus' and physical strength. We don't have any unique jutsu and have little to no power for a ninja."

 **'I know… but maybe, if we start training properly we can gain his attention.'**

Silence filled the room as Sakura contemplated that. Would it really? Would anything she did make a difference? The more she thought about it, the less she thought it would work. Sasuke-kun wanted to kill someone; that was his goal, but to do that he'd need people to help him get stronger. People who were already strong, not those who were lagging behind the rest of their teammates, with no real dream or ambition at all.

"Inner, I-I don't think it's going to work. Maybe… maybe we should give up on getting his attention."

 **'WHAT?'**

"I don't want it anymore. Not if all it is, is horrible names and mean words. Think about it, despite being on a team with the guy for weeks, the only person he really pays attention to is Naruto, and even then he's condescending and rude to him."

 **'Like us?'**

"Huh?"

 **'We're the same. We treat Naruto the same way he does, and you're saying it's condescending and rude. If we're thinking about our teammates, perhaps we should rethink how we talk and act towards Naruto?'**

"B-but he-"

 **'Think Kura! We started to treat Naruto the same way Sasuke-kun does because we thought it would gain his approval, but it hasn't, so in the long run we've only been hurting Naruto over and over again for nothing.'**

"I hadn't thought about that."

 **'Well, now we have…'** Inner said **'Hey, now that I think about it, Naruto's the only one who ever gives us encouragement. The only one who really believes in us and our abilities.'**

"I've treated him horribly, haven't I? Do you think he'd forgive me?"

 **'I don't know…'**

Silence enveloped the two beings after their realisation. Sakura turned to face the ceiling and thought about what they'd just said and discovered about her team and herself. She wondered how, despite being an intellectual by nature, the things they'd just thought of hadn't crossed her mind before.

Thinking about what she'd discussed with Inner, she decided that three things needed to be remedied. Although she wasn't quite sure how.

Number 1 was her friendship with Naruto. Even though the boy probably wouldn't say anything, the way she'd treated him was cruel, bordering on bullying, and it had to stop. Number two was being a liability to her team by not focusing on her training hard enough. Number three. That was harder; not only was it that her team didn't support her and believe in her, (at least as far as she knew) except Naruto, but it was also the question of how she was going to behave around Sasuke-kun from now on. While she knew her affection for him couldn't just disappear, she noticed that she hardly knew anything about him. The more she thought about it, the more blanks she drew. Favourite food? No idea. Favourite colour? Also no clue. Simple things like if he was left or right handed. She knew none of it and yet, just like every other girl in her year she'd thought he was the boy for her.

Sighing Sakura turned to her side and took in her room, how was she going to do this?

"'Kura-kun?" Her father's voice was a helpful distraction from her current thought process "Sakura are you home?"

"I'm in my room!" She shouted down to the man, smiling in surprise.

Grabbing her pouch off the bed, she placed it on the side before she ran out and down the stairs. Catching sight of the brown-haired, green-eyed man in front of her, her smile intensified, and she flung herself into his waiting arms.

"Your home early!" Sakura said hugging her father tighter

Chuckling, Kizashi knelt down to let her out of his arms without hurting her.

"Yes, I managed to get us the deal with that Kiri merchant sooner than I expected, especially once he learnt we had connections to a sword market we could ease him into" He smiled down at his daughter returning to his full height "But how have you been 'Kura-kun?"

At her father's words, her smile fell, and she thought about her realisations from earlier. Noting her daughter's expression Kizashi frowned and moved into the kitchen putting the kettle on.

"What's wrong?" He asked softly, hoping that his daughter would talk to him this time and not skirt around the question as she had so many times before.

"I-I realised something today," Sakura said her voice soft ", and I'm not really sure how to feel about it."

"Maybe I can help. Or maybe your mother if you feel you can't talk to me" Kizashi said giving his daughter a small smile

"It's about my team."

"Oh? Have they done something wrong?"

"No, not really. It's not just my team, it's me too." Sakura said hesitating "It's actually... Well, I'm not sure. I-I realised that...urg!"

"Take a breath Kura. Organise your thoughts and then try again."

"O-okay." She said composing herself "I realised that, well I realised a few things, and they all have to do with myself and my team."

"Well let's take it one by one and see if we can work through them."

"Okay well, number one is that... It's that I'm the weakest member of my team, and well, I guess that makes me a liability to the others."

Kizashi smiled softly shaking his head. "Sakura, that's something that can be remedied with hard work and dedication. Perhaps your sensei would be able to help with that?"

"I don't know if he would, and that's another problem. Only one teammate seems to believe I'm worth anything as a ninja."

"Oh? And which one is that?"

Sakura paused at this, wondering if bringing up the blonde would upset her father, as he seemed to with so many other adults.

"N-Naruto," she said softly

"Oh? The one that's always asking you out?"

"Y-yeah. Naruto is the only one that gives me any encouragement or notices the work I do within the team...but I-I've treated him horribly, and I'm not sure what I should do about that."

Kizashi frowned as Sakura turned her head away from him.

"What do you mean? How have you treated him?"

"Like everyone else. I've been rude and said condescending things and..." Sakura felt her eyes tear up "I realised that that's exactly what my bullies used to do to me. I only started doing it because I thought it would gain someone's approval, but now I'm not sure I want it anymore."

"Ah. Then this is about the Uchiha?"

"What Sasuke-kun said, what he keeps saying, made me think about it all. He keeps calling me weak, pathetic, useless... And he's right; I am, but he wouldn't help me if I asked him. He treats everyone as though they're less than him" Sakura paused "Except when he's trying to beat Naruto."

"So, they're rivals? Interesting." Kizashi said pouring the now boiled water into a teapot and adding his chosen leaves. "But Sakura trying to change for someone else will never make you happy. If someone is going to love you, you need to be sure they love you, not the person you pretend to be. If you truly want to gain this boys interest, it's best that you become friends first...Or it would be with any other person. The Uchiha boy has been through a lot, and being alone, separating himself from everyone else, it's not helping him. It's possible that he will come to care for people over time, but it'll be a long hard process. Especially for those who wish to get close to him" Kizashi watched as Sakura nodded slowly taking in his words. "As for Naruto, well perhaps an apology and an invitation to dinner here will help mend your friendship."

"Are you sure? Most adults don't seem to like him?" Sakura said looking up and grabbing her freshly poured cup of tea.

"Oh? Do you know why?"

"They call him a demon-child, and other horrible names." She paused "He's not though. Sure, he pulls pranks and makes mischief, but that's because he wants to have attention, at least that's what I think it is. He's really not a demon at all if anything he's just a happy yet annoying guy, with a big dream."

Kizashi frowned slightly at the names, remembering the small boy they were associated with.

"Uzumaki Naruto, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Sakura said cautiously, walking to the low table in their small living area.

"I've seen him a few times around the village, I was trying to place him. What's his dream?"

"To become Hokage. He wants to have everyone acknowledge him as a strong ninja."

At Sakura's words, a smile spread across the man's lips, and he chuckled.

"How ironic" he muttered under his breath "How is he, as a ninja?"

"Naruto? He's alright. He's got tons of chakra but not very much control. He's strong and his speeds alright, I guess. It's better than mine. But he doesn't think, he got the nickname 'Dead Last' in the academy. All of his scores were below average, and he was behind most people in his subjects."

"Has he improved at all since graduating?"

"He does know an interesting jutsu. He calls it the 'Shadow Clone Jutsu'. He's able to do it efficiently, yet he couldn't manage an average academy level clone. Kakashi-sensei said it was because of his chakra levels and lack of control over it."

"That makes sense." Kizashi said "ah! Now that I think about it, you said that you felt... inadequate compared to the rest of your team, right? Well, maybe a change of style would be a good first step? You don't have to agree, but a red dress no matter how nice may be a beacon to others, especially in the forested area we live in."

Sakura frowned, looking down at her dress.

 **'He's right'** inner said **'if we had to hide from someone then we'd be found no problem.'**

'Naruto would be found first' Sakura replied

 **'True. Wonder if we could get him something, and disguise it as a present.'**

"Kura-kun?" Kizashi's voice cut through the mental conversation

"Sorry I was thinking. Maybe having a change would be nice" Sakura said smiling "but I think I've also got an idea about Naruto too."

"Oh?"

"Well, his clothes are even brighter and harder to hide than mine because they're bright orange. So I thought I could get him something too, to help him blend in a little more."

Kizashi smiled, nodding his head.

"Alright, if that's what you want to do, I'll pay for it."

Sakura's mouth dropped open as she spluttered.

"B-but... I mean that wasn't what-"

"I know 'Kura-kun" Kizashi cut in quickly "think of it as a late gift for passing your academy exam and becoming a genin."

"Really? And you'd really help me get Naruto something?" Sakura said, her eyes lighting up excitedly

"Yep, you just have to make sure he comes for dinner in two days' time," Kizashi said, "That'll give us time to sort everything out and clean up this place a bit."

Before he could blink, Sakura had shot across the table from her seat on their sofa and pulled her father into a hug, chanting 'Thank you' over and over. Kizashi smiled hugging his daughter back briefly.

"Well I guess we better get a good night's sleep, that way we'll be ready to tackle everything tomorrow. When's your training?" Kizashi asked

"Well we normally meet at the training ground at 6, but Kakashi-sensei doesn't arrive until 9 on a good day."

"Ah, well then maybe we can use that time to talk to your old academy teacher about brushing up on your basics and increasing your strength and speed. If he can't help then perhaps he can tell us about someone who can."

"Oh! I hadn't thought to ask Iruka-sensei, I'm sure he'll think of something" Sakura said smiling

"Well, I'm going to start on dinner. We'll focus on what else we have to do while eating shall we?"

"Hai"


End file.
